Originally Posted by Doug Fattic

I can't speak for a builder I don't know (or has been identified). But I am a builder that understands the requirements to make a frame with thin wall tubing. Heat treated tubing requires extra care during the build. It is easier than heavier tubing to go out alignment while brazing and much more difficult to keep in alignment. The heat of brazing distorts tubes (they bend when heat is applied). You can't correct alignment (well not much anyway) after the build like you can non-heat treated tubing. Going back to my comment about talking to Terry Bill at Reynolds in 1978 (I think) when he said that every American that had taken the 753 (Reynolds new heat treated thin wall tubing) test had failed. That should tell you all you need to know. Not everyone can do it well. It requires both greater knowledge to do it correctly, greater skill to braze it properly so it doesn't go out of alignment, and extra time to be careful so it turns out like he wants it.

In most fields, the specialists charge more than the general practitioners when doing higher level work. If I was't already an experienced frame builder, but had my knowledge anyway, I would definitely pay the extra $500. If I didn't, I would know that I still paid a lot but not quite enough to make it exceptional.